After a tense night in the south, which included Hamas firing on an IDF soldier, wounding him moderately, and an Israeli strike in Gaza, the heads of the military wing of Hamas issued a particularly strong statement Thursday morning, 14 Menachem Av, that the organization had raised the level of alert to the highest level and deployed all their forces In the field.

“We call upon the other military branches to act like us, and raise the alert to the highest level,” they said. “The enemy will pay an expensive price of blood in the wake of the daily crimes committed against our people and our fighters.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)